Pistons hold off Magic for 104-102 win

Monday, January 28, 2013

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Knight had a career-high 31 points, including five 3-pointers, and Greg Monroe scored 17 points and the Detroit Pistons ended a two-game losing streak with a 104-102 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday.

The Magic had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds after a missed free throw, but missed three putback attempts as the final horn sounded.

Orlando’s J.J. Redick tied a career high with 31 points and set a career high with eight 3-pointers.

The Pistons led 93-89 on a 3-pointer from the wing by Knight with just over six minutes to play. It would grow to five points a few possessions later on a floater by Will Bynum.

The Magic found a way to rally. E’Twaun Moore connected on a deep 3 to trim Detroit’s lead to 95-93. A Nikola Vucevic dunk tied it up, and Moore’s three-point play off a steal put the Magic up 98-95 with 2:50 left.

Detroit’s rebounding kept alive back-to-back possessions, each ending in 3-pointers by Knight, to put the Pistons back in front 101-98.

The Magic got it back to 103-100 on another basket by Moore, but Davis came up short on a jumper, giving the Pistons the ball with under a minute to play.

Orlando pulled down the rebound on a Detroit miss, but Redick fired an air ball from 3 on the other end, which was corralled by Detroit.

Bynum was fouled with less than 10 seconds left and got 1 of 2 free throws to make it 104-100.

Nelson was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He made 2 of the first 3, but the third rattled out.

During a scramble for the rebound, the Magic got off three attempts that would have tied it, but came up empty as time expired.

The Pistons took a 10-point lead into the break, but it was Redick who was the star of the first half.

Redick scored 16 of the Magic’s first 18 points to start the game, and knocked down 6 of his 7 attempts from beyond the arc as Orlando took a 32-29 lead.

The rest of the Magic’s lineup struggled to support him offensively, though, as Detroit responded with a 15-0 run to retake control. Redick was 7 for 10 from the field in the opening 24 minutes, compared to 9 for 33 for the rest of his teammates.

Notes: Davis received a technical with 8:33 left in the third quarter. It was the fourth straight game he has received a tech and is his fifth of the season. ...The Pistons earned just their fifth road win of the season, improving to 5-16.